00:00Charlie Chaplin actually learned how to walk on a tightrope for that astonishing sequence in the circus.
00:05No trick photography was used, and luckily, Chaplin didn't fall.
00:10But that was the only stroke of good luck Chaplin had during the production.
00:14At the time, he was being sued for divorce by his 17-year-old wife, Lita,
00:19who was pregnant and wasn't shy about dragging their personal problems out into the open.
00:24The U.S. government was also suing Chaplin for over a million dollars in back taxes
00:29with the threat of possible jail time.
00:32Back at the studio, a month's worth of footage from the tightrope scene had been damaged and needed to be
00:37re-shot.
00:38And atop of all that, the film's set burned to the ground in the middle of production.
00:43Incredibly, Chaplin managed to finish making the film,
00:46and it earned him an honorary Academy Award for his, quote,
00:50versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing, and producing the circus.
00:55It was the only Academy Award Chaplin ever received for his work in the silent era.
01:01Up next, I'm turning it over to Alicia Malone for this week's TCM Import,
01:05and I'll see you again next week when Silent Sunday Nights returns.
01:08I'm Jacqueline Stewart.
01:09Thanks for watching.
01:12Next on TCM, Chains, then Tormento, and later Honeymoon.
01:21Elope with TCM today.
